Monday, May 24, 2010

Catholic kids clubs (Little Flowers and Blue Knights) wraps up with a presentation day and pizza party. The kids had a wonderful time this year doing these Catholic scouting alternatives. We will be doing them again next year. They loved it!

R taking a nap on a good book. I am so thankful that at age 2 1/2 she is still napping. This is a first.

Aunt Olivia in one of her costumes and then poses with her adoring fans after the play.

T took part in the May Crowning at our parish. It was very lovely and I am so glad we have a parish that proactively lives the Catholic faith.

This one is of our celebrations of Mother's Day at Tumbleweed with Dear Hubby's mom and grandparents. No one could decide where to go, so hubby decided. Next time, I am speaking up. I am getting a little tired of always celebrating Mother's Day where hubby wants to go.Poor little Elias was so tuckered out after being fed by his big sister, M, that he fell asleep in his Bumbo. That just doesn't look very comfortable, does it?On my birthday, we took a break from school work and I took the kids to the park. By the looks of it, I think they enjoyed my birthday.

Rolling the yard after the new grass came up on our septic field. We finally were able to get the yard graded and seeded with grass. It only took two years.Grandpa came over to celebrate M's Birthday. She received a lovely art set that she has used frequently ever since. It is amazing to me that my baby is 10 now. Wow!

E's first time camping. We even brought a friend along this time to celebrate M's Birthday.The one and only picture we were able to get of M with her cake. Neither I, nor dear hubby knew the batteries were that low. Hey, at least we have one picture.

Friday, May 14, 2010

THERE is a strange new "virtue" which has appeared in our culture. It has crept in so subtly that few realize how it has become so highly practiced, even among high ranking clergy. That is, to make peace at all costs. It comes with its own set of prohibitions and proverbs:"Just be quiet. Don’t stir the pot.""Mind your own business.""Ignore it and it will go away.""Don’t make trouble…"Then there are the sayings specifically developed for the Christian:"Don’t judge.""Don’t criticize your priest/bishop (just pray for them.)""Be a peacemaker.""Don’t be so negative…"And the favorite, designed for every class and person:"Be tolerant."

PEACE—AT ALL COSTS?Indeed, blessed are the peacemakers. But there can be no peace where there is not justice. And there can be no justice where truth does not abide. Thus, when Jesus dwelt among us, He said something startling:Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household. (Matt 10:34-36)How do we understand this coming from the mouth of the One whom we call the Prince of Peace? Because He also said, "I am the truth." In so many words, Jesus announced to the world that a great battle would follow in His footsteps. It is a battle for souls, and the battleground is "the truth which sets us free." The sword Jesus speaks of is the "word of God"……penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.(Heb 4:12)The power of His word, of truth, reaches deep into the soul and speaks to the conscience where we discern right from wrong. And there, the battle begins or ends. There, the soul either embraces truth, or rejects it; manifests humility, or pride.But today, few are the men and women who will unleash such a sword for fear they may be misunderstood, rejected, disliked, or become wreckers of "the peace." And the cost of this silence can be counted in souls.

WHAT’S OUR MISSION AGAIN?The Great Commission of the Church (Matt 28:18-20) is not to bring peace to the world, but to bring Truth to the nations.She exists in order to evangelize… —POPE PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 24But wait, you might say, didn’t the angels announce at Christ’s birth: "Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will?" (Lk 2:14). Yes, they did. But what kind of peace?Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. (John 14:27)It is not a peace of this world, manufactured through an illusory "tolerance." It is not a peace produced whereby truth and justice are sacrificed in order to make all things "equal." It is not a peace whereby creatures, in efforts to be "humane," are given more rights than man, their steward. This is false peace. Lack of conflict is not necessarily a sign of peace either. It may in fact be the fruit of control and manipulation, of a distortion of justice. All the nobel peace prizes in the world cannot produce peace without the power and truth of the Prince of Peace.

TRUTH—AT ALL COSTSNo, brothers and sisters, we are not called to bring peace into the world, our cities, our homes at all costs—we are to bring truth at all costs. The peace we bring, the peace of Christ, is the fruit of reconciliation with God and alignment with His will. It comes via the truth of the human person, the truth that we are sinners enslaved to sin. The truth that God loves us, and has brought true justice through the Cross. The truth that each of us needs to personally choose to receive the fruit of this justice—salvation—through repentance, and faith in the love and mercy of God. The truth which then springs forth, like the petals of a rose, in a multiplicity of dogmas, moral theology, Sacraments, and charity in action. We are to bring this truth to the world at all costs. How?…with gentleness and reverence. (1 Peter 3:16)It is time to draw your sword, Christian—high time. But know this: it may cost you your reputation, peace in your home, in your parish, and yes, perhaps cost you your life.Those who challenge this new paganism are faced with a difficult option. Either they conform to this philosophy or they are faced with the prospect of martyrdom. —Fr. John Hardon (1914-2000), How to Be a Loyal Catholic Today? By Being Loyal to the Bishop of Rome; www.therealpresence.orgThe truth… at all costs. For ultimately, Truth is a person, and He is worth defending, in season and out, to the very end!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The blessed day of T's First Holy Communion was April 25th at the 10:30 am Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It was lovely. Father gave an inspiring homily about Maria Goretti. The liturgy was orthodox. The music was excellent. But best of all, we were surrounded by our Church Family and friends who all were there to bare witness to T receiving Jesus for the first time in the Holy Eucharist. T was beaming with joy. After kneeling down and praying a short while, he began to cry. He was so happy. You can tell in some of the pictures that he had been crying. It was so moving to see that all our preparations and study about Jesus in the Eucharist had made such a difference. The reality of God becoming man, dying on the cross for our sins, and being willing to feed our very souls, hit T's heart like a ton of bricks.

The next day, on Monday, T and I went alone to Mass while my mom and sister watched the other kids. It was just the two of us. I did this with M, too. It is sort of a tradition in our family. My mother did it for me and my sister. To this day, my sister remembers that "alone" time with Jesus and Mom at Mass. I could tell T felt the same way. The rest of the week we attended either Mass or a communion service with the rest of the kids. When I told him on Saturday that we couldn't go to Mass, T was heart broken. I told him he'd have to wait until Sunday morning. I thought he was going to cry. It is really moving to see how much he appreciates receiving Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Who knows, maybe God is calling him to be a priest. Only time will tell if that dream he had was more than just a dream, but rather a calling.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

After the majority of my immediate family had arrived at our house (in preparation for T's First Holy Communion), it started to rain. We all waited inside the house and visited. When it started to slow down, the sun came out again. I looked outside and to my amazement there was a double rainbow that was extremely bright. I've never seen one that brilliant and well-defined. These pictures don't do it justice. The kids were in total awe. It was a great time to discuss Noah and the Ark and how God always keeps His promises. The conversation quickly turned to the fact that T was making his First Holy Communion the next day. The kids thought this was a sign from God that He was keeping His promise to us.

That evening we read from Devotional Stories for Little Folks by Nancy Nicholson ( available at www.chcweb.com/ ). There was a great story in there about the Eucharist and the Real Presence. It compared the Catholic Church's Holy Communion to that of a Protestant communion. (Very good story for the evening before the big day.) The story provoked our 10-year-old to ask Dear Hubby many theologically deep questions. I think he was genuinely taken off guard at her maturity in spiritual matters. The conversations came back to the double rainbow that we had witnessed earlier in the evening. The kids concluded that Jesus was keeping his promise to remain always with us by remaining in the tabernacle of every Catholic Church. The whole evening was filled with a beautiful chain of events that only God could have foreseen. Praise be to our Lord, Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Monday, May 3, 2010

At a recent pro-life dinner, we were fortunate to meet the former senator of Pennsylvania, Senator Rick Santorum. Dear hubby and I spoke with him briefly before the event and snapped this picture with Baby E. It was so encouraging to see a politician who has solid morals and values. His talk was so powerful and inspiring. Do I hear a," Santorum for 2012!" chant in the background?

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI

About Me

I am a Roman Catholic, wife and home schooling mother of seven little blessings (so far). We have four girls and three boys. Hubby and I have been married for 12 years. All I can say is that we are so blessed and, "To God be the glory now and forever!"